The Making Of A Prophet

The Making Of A Prophet

When God called Ezekiel to be a prophet, he knew he was called.

IN 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar became king of Babylon and King Jehoiakim of Judah became his vassal. However, after three years Jehoiakim switched his allegiance from Babylon to Egypt and became the vassal of the pharaoh (2 Kings 24:1-2), ignoring the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 27:8-11). In response, Nebuchadnezzar declared war on Judah and in 597 B.C. conquered Jerusalem. He took Jehoiakim’s son and successor, King Jehoiachin, captive to Babylon along with ten thousand of Judah’s leading citizens (2 Kings 24:10-16). Nebuchadnezzar then made Johoiachin’s uncle, Mattaniah, king of Judah in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17).

Among the captives taken to Babylon was a priest named Ezekiel who had been looking forward to serving in the temple when he reached his thirtieth birthday (cf. Numbers 4:3). However, his thirtieth birthday found him a long way from the temple in Jerusalem; he was by the Kebar River, a canal near the city of Tel Abib, Babylon, which made a loop off of the Euphrates River (Ezekiel 1:1).

There by the Kebar River on July 31, 593 B.C., Ezekiel received a vision that would change his life (chapters 1–3). Ezekiel

saw a great storm coming toward him from the north, driving before it a huge cloud that flashed with lightening and shone with brilliant light. The fire inside the cloud glowed like gleaming amber. From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked human, except that each had four faces and two pairs of wings. . . . There was a surface spread out above them like the sky. . . . Above this surface over their heads was what looked like a throne made of blue sapphire. And high above this throne was a figure whose appearance was like that of a man. From his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber. . . . All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining through the clouds. (Ezekiel 1:4-28)

The Lord was appearing to Ezekiel in his glory. Ezekiel fell down and the Lord said to him, “Stand up, I want to speak to you.” As the Lord spoke, the Holy Spirit entered Ezekiel and enabled him to stand. “Son of man,” the Lord said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a nation that is rebelling against me. Their ancestors have rebelled against me from the beginning, and they are still in revolt to this very day. They are a hard-hearted and stubborn people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ And whether they listen or not—for remember, they are rebels—at least they will know they have had a prophet among them” (Ezekiel 2:1-5).

The Lord continued,

“I am sending you to the people of Israel, but they won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn. But look, I have made you as hard and stubborn as they are. I have made you as hard as rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are such rebels.”

Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.” (Ezekiel 3:7-11)

Then the Holy Spirit returned Ezekiel to the colony of exiles at Tel Abib beside the Kebar River. He was so overwhelmed by his experience that for seven days he just sat among his fellow exiles, meditating on what he had seen and heard and letting it sink deep into his heart.

God had taken Ezekiel the priest and made him into a prophet.

Reflection

How do you feel when others reject spiritual truths you share with them? Why do you think God told Ezekiel to give his message to the Israelites whether they listened to him or not? What does that tell us about where the responsibility for results resides?

You must give them my messages whether they listen or not.

Ezekiel 2:7